A Time For Comfort
by Cutieqtpie
Summary: Chapter 3! Still going strong on the carby lovin. Hehe.
1. Default Chapter

This episode has to do with total speculation on "Episode Nineteen" and beyond. I wanted to get the story posted before the episode airs tonight so that no one thinks it is influenced by the episode in any way. I already have a couple chapters written, but I'll wait to post them until I get some feedback. Please review!  
  
As always, only in my dreams do I own these characters. Actually, I do have a birthday coming up.that could be a really great present.if Noah just shows up at my doorstep.I'd enjoy that. Hehe.  
  
"I thought your shift wasn't til later." Abby mumbled as she awoke to Carter hurriedly getting dressed on the other side of the room and quickly checked her alarm clock.  
  
"It isn't." He shook his head as he pulled on one of his socks. "I have to go over to Gamma's. Alger just called my cell."  
  
"Is she alright?" She sat up in bed and pulled the comforter up around her.  
  
"I don't know. He just said she was having difficulty breathing or something. I don't know. He wasn't very clear."  
  
"Call me later, okay?" Abby said as he started to go towards the door. He turned back around and nodded and walked over and bent down to give her a quick kiss.  
  
"It's probably nothing." John said as he gave Abby one last kiss. "I'll call you at the hospital."  
  
With that, he was gone, and Abby rolled over and went back to sleep. John left her apartment and got into his Jeep. He flipped on the radio before starting on the drive to the mansion. Twenty five minutes later, he reached the house and pulled into the driveway. As he approached the front door, he noticed something seemed wrong about the house. There was this strange air about it. He rang the doorbell and soon heard quick footsteps approaching.  
  
"Margaret, what's the matter?" John asked, as the housekeeper opened the door in tears.  
  
"Mrs. Carter." That was all the woman had to say for him to suddenly become extremely worried. He turned and took the stairs two at a time until he reached his grandmother's bedroom door. As he went to turn the handle, the door opened, and Alger walked out.  
  
"What's going on?" Carter said sharply.  
  
"I'm so sorry, sir." The elderly man looked like he was about to burst into tears as John himself felt himself begin to break. He looked over Alger's shoulder and let out a sigh of anguish. He ran his hands through his hair before entering the room. As he approached the bed, he pulled a nearby chair over and sat down. He reached over and gently smoothed Gamma's hair and took her hand in his and kissed it.  
  
"Oh god." John whispered. He looked over and saw Alger had quietly re- entered the room. "Did you call my father yet?"  
  
"No." The butler shook his head as John sighed again.  
  
"Okay, I'll do it. And can you get me the number for the funeral home?"  
  
"Sir, someone else can take care of those arrangements."  
  
"No, I'll do it." Alger nodded and exited the room, leaving John alone with his grandmother. "I'm sorry if I ever disappointed you Gamma. I loved you though, more than I ever told you."  
  
John looked around the room, and saw that everything remained the same as if Millicent had never died. Her tea cup still sat beside her bed with a lipstick smudge on it. Her hair brush sat at her dressing table with a noticeable strand of silver hair stuck into it. Her perfume scent still hung in the air, not yet interrupted by the inevitable smell of death. John felt a tear roll down his cheek before he even realized he was crying.  
"Hello?" Abby answered her cell phone, not recognizing the number.  
  
"Hey Abby." A familiar voice said slowly. The color drained out of Abby's face as she sat down at the table in the lounge. "I know you're probably really pissed off at me, but I need to talk to you."  
  
"Where are you?" Abby asked as she ran her hand through her hair.  
  
"That diner across the street."  
  
"You're at Doc Magoo's?" She asked incredulously.  
  
"Yeah. I just got into town, and it was the first place I thought to go. I'll explain everything if you just come here."  
  
"Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can." Abby said and hung up. The door opened, and Luka walked in.  
  
"Everything okay?" He asked, noticing the expression on Abby's face.  
  
"Uh, I'm not sure." Abby replied, and stood up and went over to her locker. She opened it and pulled out her jacket.  
  
"Are you off now?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Is something wrong with Carter?"  
  
"No. It's my brother." Abby closed her locker and walked towards the door. "I have to go."  
  
Abby left and walked towards the front desk.  
  
"Jerry, have you seen Chuni?"  
  
"Uh, I think she's in exam four."  
  
"Thanks." She answered and walked towards the exam room. As she came close, the door opened and the other nurse came out. "Hey, Chuni, I need to take care of something. Can you cover for me for a little bit. I'll make it up to you."  
  
"Yeah, sure. Everything okay?" Abby nodded and thanked her once again before exiting the emergency room. She crossed the street and went into the diner. She looked to her right, and saw a man a few booths back stand up and give her a small smile. Moving towards him, Abby couldn't believe it was him. He now had a grown out beard and mustache, and was almost unrecognizable.  
  
"Hey." Eric said as he gave Abby a big hug. "Sit down. You want coffee?"  
  
"Sure." Abby nodded, and sat across from her brother. Eric called the waitress over and ordered Abby's coffee.  
  
"So." Abby started, shrugging. "Have you talked to Mom?"  
  
"No. I wanted to talk to you first before dealing with her."  
  
"She's worried, you should call her." The waitress brought the coffee and Abby took a long sip.  
  
"Aren't you going to ask me?" Eric asked, looking up from his own coffee. Abby gave him a questioning look. "Where I went, what I did, why I did it?"  
  
"Does it matter?"  
  
"I don't know. I guess not." They were both silent for several minutes.  
  
"I figured you were dead." Abby finally broke the silence.  
  
"Why would you think that?"  
  
"You came to see me.you bought a plane.you were.depressed."  
  
"I have a disease."  
  
"I know that."  
  
"I'm not Maggie, you know."  
  
"I know." Abby sighed. They were both silent once again.  
  
"I thought about it." Eric finally admitted. "I don't have much to live for Abby. Besides you. And I don't want you to have to deal with me like we've both dealt with Maggie. You've already raised me once."  
  
"You're my brother.I'm not going to just throw you away."  
  
"I want to get help Abby." Eric admitted. Abby didn't respond. "That program or whatever..."  
  
"You have to be on meds to be in the program."  
  
"I know that. I'll take the meds."  
  
"And stay on them." She continued.  
  
"Abby, I know. I want to do it. I don't want to let you down anymore. I love you."  
  
Abby pressed her lips together and forced a small smile. "I love you too." 


	2. Chapter 2

Here's chapter two! I was disappointed that they changed the name of the episode from "Episode Nineteen" to "Things Change" even though I guess "Things Change" was appropriate. I'm working on the next chapter, so I should be posting it in a couple of days. In the meantime, please review and tell me what you think! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------  
  
"Abby, do you know where Carter is? His shift was supposed to start half an hour ago." Susan asked Abby as Abby came out of a trauma room and Susan walked from behind the front desk several hours later.  
  
"Did you try calling him?"  
  
"I called his apartment and I paged him. No luck."  
  
"Did you try his cell?" She asked, as they both walked into the doctor's lounge.  
  
"No." Susan shook her head. "I didn't know the number."  
  
"Here, I'll do it." Abby said as Susan flopped down onto the sofa and Abby picked up a nearby telephone. After a few rings, he picked up.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hey. Where are you? You're late for your shift."  
  
"I'm still over at the house."  
  
"Is your grandmother okay?" Abby asked, concerned.  
  
"No.she, well.she uh died. Right before I got here." She could hear the sadness in his voice.  
  
"Oh my god. Are you alright?" Her tone got the attention of Susan, who immediately sat up and gave her a questioning look.  
  
"I guess so." John responded.  
  
"Do you want me to help you with anything?"  
  
"Could you tell Kerry that I'm not going to be in today?"  
  
"I meant do you want me to go over there."  
  
"No. I think I have everything taken care of." There was a sigh from the other end of the phone.  
  
"Are you sure? I can get someone to cover for me. I get off in an hour anyways."  
  
"I'll meet you over at your apartment later, okay? I'm waiting for her to get picked up and I don't know how long I'm going to be."  
  
"Okay.I'll see you later." Abby closed her eyes and hung up the phone. She ran her hand through her hair as she turned to face her friend. "Carter's grandmother passed away."  
  
"Oh my god. How is he taking it?" Abby shrugged and shook her head. "Do you want me to cover the end of your shift?"  
  
"No. It's fine."  
  
"Okay." Susan nodded.  
  
"I have to get back to my patient." Abby said, starting towards the door. "Can you do me a favor and keep this on the down low."  
  
"Sure. No problem."  
  
"Thanks." Abby gave a grateful smile and left.  
  
An hour and a half later, Abby reached her apartment, and tiredly walked inside. As she opened the door and turned on the light, she saw the red light blinking on her answering machine. She walked over and pressed the button.  
  
"Hi honey. This is your mother. I'm going to try calling you at the hospital. I just got off the phone with Eric. So I'll talk to you soon. I love you."  
  
Abby pressed the erase button and the second message started.  
  
"Hey, it's me. Listen, I don't think I'm going to be able to come over later. The funeral home still hasn't picked up the body and my father is flying in late tonight. I'll call you tomorrow morning. I'm probably just going to spend the night here. Bye."  
  
Abby took off her jacket and rubbed the back of her neck. She walked into her bedroom and kicked off her shoes and fell back onto the bed. She gave serious consideration to crawling into bed and falling asleep, but then changed her mind and stood back up. She pulled her shoes back on, and grabbed her jacket. As she walked down the stairs outside her apartment, she undid and redid her hair back into a ponytail. Walking towards the street, she hailed down a taxi and when it stopped, she got in. Giving the address to the driver, Abby sat back in her seat. Twenty minutes later, they reached her destination, and after paying, Abby got out and walked towards the house. Then she rang the doorbell. She heard voices coming from inside, and finally heard footsteps coming toward the door. She stepped back as the door opened and revealed someone she was not expecting to see answering the door. They both looked at each other in surprise.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Carter asked.  
  
"Why are you answering the door?" Abby responded.  
  
"I thought you were the funeral home." John said, leading Abby into the house.  
  
"They still haven't come?"  
  
"No. I've called four times." Carter shook his head.  
  
"I wanted to make sure you were okay." Abby commented. "And see if you needed any help with anything."  
  
"I was just about to leave to go pick up my father from the airport."  
  
"Can I go with you?"  
  
"You sure?" Abby nodded and John smiled the first smile of the evening. "We'll have to take one of my grandmother's cars. The Jeep only has room for two."  
  
Several minutes later, they reached the garage and John went around to the passenger side to open the door for Abby. As she went to sit down, he changed his mind and grabbed her arm, pulling her towards him.  
  
"You didn't have to come you know." John said as he wrapped his arms around her waist.  
  
"I know." Abby responded and leaned in as Carter kissed her. 


	3. Chapter 3

"So how was your shift?" Carter asked, a couple minute later after Abby got into the car and John got in the driver side and they pulled out of the garage.  
  
"The usual." Abby sighed. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. Eric called me."  
  
"When?"  
  
"During my shift. I met him at Doc's."  
  
"He's in Chicago?" Abby nodded. "Is he on his meds?"  
  
"No." Abby said slowly. "I got Susan to write me a prescription. I got him a hotel room and told him I'd come by later."  
  
"How do you know he won't fly?"  
  
"I don't know. He says he wants help, so I'm going to help him."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"You don't think I should?"  
  
"I didn't say that. I just think you shouldn't get your hopes up that he's going to change and be fine."  
  
"I'm not getting my hopes up. I've dealt with this with Maggie before." Abby argued.  
  
"Let's talk about something else." John said after a couple minutes. Abby glanced over at him, then turned and looked back out the window.  
  
"Is your mother going to come?"  
  
"I don't know. I haven't been able to get a hold of her all day. I was going to try again in the morning."  
  
As they neared the airport some time later, Carter's cell phone rang. He answered it and talked for a couple minutes before hanging up.  
  
"That was the funeral home. They just got to the house." John told Abby. "They're just going to go ahead and take her."  
  
"When is the funeral going to be?"  
  
"Friday morning. There's going to be a viewing on Wednesday and Thursday, that should give everybody enough time to get here."  
  
"Do you need me to help you make any other arrangements?"  
  
"I really think I have everything covered." John pulled into a parking space in the short term garage. "I called the caterer and the florist. Everything is basically the same as my grandfather's."  
  
They both got out of the car and walked toward the terminal. As they walked, Abby took Carter's hand in hers and he pulled her towards him and kissed the top of her head. Abby rested her head on his shoulder but they separated as they walked into the airport.  
  
"Well this says the plane is just arriving, so we might as well go to the gate." John said, reading the screen. They walked in step towards the right gate and sat down in the chairs. "I'm going to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back."  
  
John stood up and left leaving Abby sitting there. All of a sudden, the doors to the gate opened and people started emerging. One man with silver hair was one of the first to emerge and as he walked out, he gave a long look around the terminal. He had an expensive looking suit on and only one medium sized back slung over his shoulder.  
  
"Mr. Carter?" Abby went up to him and asked. The man nodded and Abby let out a small sigh of relief. "John just went to the bathroom. I'm sure he'll be right back."  
  
"You must be Abby." Jack smiled warmly at the younger woman and reached out to shake her hand. "I'm sorry we've never met before this. You should have come to Boston at Christmas. I'm afraid the weather isn't much better than in Chicago though."  
  
"Hey Dad. I see you two have met." John said, coming back and giving his father a hug.  
  
"Abby's keeping you well fed I see. You look good son."  
  
"I can't take the credit for that. We end up eating at Doc Magoo's most of the time." Abby rolled her eyes and smiled.  
  
"That diner right? I think we had lunch there last year didn't we?" Jack asked John, who nodded in response. "I don't know how you could eat that all the time."  
  
"I don't either. Somehow we manage though." John piped in. "Is this your only bag?"  
  
"I'm only here for a couple days, decided to travel light."  
  
"Well then I guess we can head to the car. Want me to carry that?"  
  
"I got it." He replied, and the threesome walked back through the airport to the parking garage. When they got to the car, Abby started to get into the backseat, but Jack stopped her and insisted she sit in the front.  
  
"Did you eat or do you want to stop and get something before we get home?" John asked as they exited the airport.  
  
"Actually, I'm starving. How about we grab some dinner somewhere? My treat. What are you in the mood for? I'll eat anything."  
  
"I'm not really that hungry." Carter replied and looked toward Abby.  
  
"Food sounds good." Abby nodded. "I don't think I've eaten all day."  
  
"Pizza would be really good right now."  
  
"Mmm." Abby responded from the front seat and John smirked at her.  
  
"Pizza it is!" Jack laughed from the back. A couple minutes later, they pulled into a restaurant frequently visited by the couple.  
  
"Do you remember that time you talked back to her? You must have been about nine years old. I thought she was going to kill you. She didn't like the tie you were wearing, and you refused to put on another one. You're about as stubborn as she was. Maybe that's why you two got along so well."  
  
The table was quiet for several minutes as they ate their pizza. When they finished, Jack paid the bill and the trio left the restaurant. 


End file.
